THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN NCAA TOURNAMENT SPECIAL SECTION
7B
>>COMMENTARY
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2007
South breaks down from good to bad
BY MARK DENT
BY MARK DENT
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
MDENT@KANSAN.COM
The Contenders
Texas A&M - The Aggies appeared lost at times against
Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament.
Ace Law IV only had 10 points and didn't touch the ball in the game's final
minute. That shouldn't matter. Texas A&M has one of the nation's best defenses and that is always a premium in the NCAA Tournament. And having Law, college basketball Mr. Clutch, is definitely a bonus. If A&M gets past a possible second-round game against Louisville in Lexington, Ky., it could make the Final Four.
Ohio State — Fans in Columbus already have good news: Greg Oden isn't so sure he wants to leave for the NBA this season. But it could be better if Oden and fellow freshman Mike Conley Jr. led the Buckeyes to the national title. Ohio State has been the No.1 team in the country for the past three weeks, but the
Buckeyes lost earlier this year to
North Carolina and Florida. A possible Elite Eight match-up against Texas A&M could be tough because the game is in San Antonio
Memphis — It's hard to say a 22-game winning streak doesn't count, but the Tigers' streak isn't genuine. The last 19 games of it have
Whomever Memphis plays in the second round, Nevada or Creighton, could spring an upset. If the Tigers and Aggies both win their first two games, it will be a great match-up of conflicting styles. Memphis loves to run, and the Aggies love to grind.
The Players
Brook Lopez, Stanford - Lopez
and his brother Robin are two of the best post players in the West. Brooke is slightly better and could be the difference in the first round going against Louisville's David
Nate Funk, Creighton — Funk got injured toward the end of last
Padgett.
season, and the Bluejays missed the tournament. Earlier this year, he had not recovered yet and Creighton struggled. Now Funk is healthy and the Bluejays are playing their best basketball of the season.
Sean Singletary. Virginia
— One of the least heralded point guards in the country. Singletary can score like a shooting guard
and pass well. Look for him to find his favorite target, backcourt mate J.R. Reynolds, for open jump shots.
Connecticut State — Don't even
choose it.
The Rest
UCLA and USC earlier but can catch fire from three point range.
think about it.
BYU —
Cougars are
mature; six
players have
gone on
Mormon mission
sions.
Tennessee — Chris Lofton shoots and shoots and shoots — and usually makes it, too.
Xavier — Beat K-State when it had Bill Walker this year.
Virginia — No business being a four seed but should beat Albany.
Long Beach State — Lost to
Albany - As a 16-seed last year, led Connecticut for most of the game before losing.
Stanford —
Struggled down
the stretch, but
frontline could trouble other teams.
Penn — The Quakers have danced three years in a row but have yet to win.
Louisville
Nevada
Guard Kyle Shiloh is out after slipping on an on-court advertisement.
Creighton —
Dana Altman is the best coach at a mid-major
N o r t h
Texas — The
Mean Green
are athletic but
not Memphis
athletic
Dent is an Overland Park sophomore in journalism.
Edited by Sharla Shivers
>> GUEST COMMENTARY
East region deep with talented youth
BY HARLAN GOODE
Editor's Note. The Hoya is the student newspaper at Georgetown University. Hoya assistant sports editor Harlan Goode examines the East region. The Hoyas are the No. 2 seed in the region.
If one were to write a term paper on the theme of the 2007 NCAA basketball season, the East bracket would serve as an eloquent thesis statement. In a season flooded by a fountain of talented youth, the East will run deep with so-good-so-soon freshmen.
In lightning-quick point guard Ty Lawson, silky-smooth shooter Wayne Ellington and deceptively-fast forward Brendan Wright, top-seeded North Carolina boasts three starters who were nothing but fresh faces on rivals100.com a year ago. The talented trio joins super sophomore Tyler Hansbrough to form what maybe the most gifted lineup Roy Williams has enjoyed since arriving in Chapel Hill.
Texas' Kevin Durant possesses the phenomenal first-year talent Carmelo Anthony displayed in leading Sacrure to the 2003 NCAA title and could well carry the Longhorns to Atlanta on his string-bean frame.
Although second-seeded Georgetown relies on the steady veteran leadership of juniors Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace, they also call on steely freshman forward Dalian Summers for a youthful jolt in the clutch.
Washington State, Southern Cal. and Arkansas are all weaker than their seeding suggests, but look out for Marquette, arguably the toughest eighth-seed in the entire tournament field.
The Golden Eagles could make a run on the wings of freshman point guard Dominic James, a 5-11 ball of fast-twitch fiber who is quicker off the dribble than anyone in the land.
With Eastern Kentucky, Belmont, and New Mexico State, the East will not provide the backdrop for a storybook lower-seed Cinderella upset, but the tale of 14-seeded Oral Roberts' forward Yemi Ogunoye, who comes from Nigerian royalty, should keep the talking heads on CB occupied.
Although there won't be any Bucknell-over-Kansas style upsets in this bracket, sharp-shooting Vanderbilt and streaky Texas Tech could have some of the bracket's wunderkinds preparing for the NBA draft early, should they decide to show up in the coming weeks. If not, the fair tale for Roy Williams and his band of baby-faced boys in baby blue should continue until the clock strikes midnight on April 2.
》 LEFT BEHIND
BY JONATHAN GARTEN
ANSAS STATE COLLEGIAN
Tournament omission mixed blessing
MANHATTAN — The depressing news of K-State's NCAA Tournament snub still lingers around Manhattan and the state of Kansas.
For the first time in more than a decade, Wildcat fans had a reason to tune in for Selection Sunday. They were by no means a lock, but after Bob Hugins drilled his formula — 20 huds overall plus 10 conference wins equals an NCAA Tournament selection — into their heads, K State fans were more than a little hopeful they would be awarded a spot in the Big Dance.
Wildcat nation held its breath in anticipation as CBS revealed region after region filled with teams not named K State. Finally, CBS affirmed the Wildcats would not be dancing this year, naming Stanford the last team in the field of 65.
But all the disappointment of being snubbed has brought up an
interesting point. Its nice to be part of "March Madness" conversation:
When K-State was coached by a jacket-tossing, neck-brace wearing, thumb-waving nice guy, the Wildcats' postseason hopes usually vanished long before the Big 12 Conference Tournament. But not this year. As long as Huggins is on the sidelines, ranting and raving until he turns a shade of purple, the Wildcats always will have a shot at the tournament. The turnaround has been so sudden that it's easy to forget all those embarrassing moments of the last 20 years. Here are just a few.
1997: K-State forward Manny Dies pleaded guilty to damaging property of a Collegian columnist who was critical of his play. The student journalist called Dies the worst college basketball player ever.
— 2003: The name Pervis Pasco unfortunately will live in KState lore forever. During the first round of a Big 12 Tournament game against Colorado, Pasco stole an inbound
pass with only seconds remaining, seeming to seal a 76-74 win for the Wildcats. All he had to do was stop or dribble. But Pasco, thinking the game was over, took off running with his index finger waving above his head. The officials whistled Pasco for traveling, and Colorado banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win.
2005: The stage was set for K-State to end a five-game losing streak with the Wildcats leading Oklahoma, 68-67. All they had to do was hold on for four more seconds. But K-State had no answer for Drew Lavender, who had scored 27 points up to that point. The guard drove the length of the court to sink an improbable layup. While the loss was hard to swallow, it was Jim Wooldridge's postgame rant about Big 12 officiating that really made it a moment Wildcat fans would want to forget.
As you can see, although getting the cold shoulder is infuriating, its good to know the selection committee knows K-State exists.
Jade 翠苑
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